Had a great, wonderful birthday party yesterday, thanks to Ellen! Mike, Paula, Vivian, Violet, and Vickie came first, followed by my twin Betty, and her Carolyn, Dana, Finn, and Claire. A little later, Betty's son, Steve, his wife Robyn, and their Dexter blew in from Pasadena, and we were all there.
What a ball we had. The five children ranged in age from Finn, at 8 1/2 to little Violet, 17 months, and they loved playing together, scattering toys from one end of the house to another. We adults chatted, drank beer, and talked and laughed for an hour or so, then had lunch. Ellen had gotten a sandwich tray and the others contributed light and dark beer, Mediteranian potato salad, and bow-tie pasta. Ellen then unveiled a big, scrumptious cake with whipped cream icing and lacy chocolate decorations and a white chocolate banner that spelled out "Happy Birthday, Mimi (my childhood nickname) and Betty" in dark chocolate.
It was then present-opening time and what wonderful ones. I got a kind of short poncho (which I kept me nice and warm later in the evening), a scarf that can be worn in several different ways, a traveling bag, several books, and two pairs of slippers, along with a puffy robe (thanks, Ellen!), and lots of other great gifts.
After that, most of us took the children next door to a small playground, where they ran, jumped, and shrieked to their hearts' content. When we came back in, Patrick and Natsue were on the web cam talking to Ellen and Betty, and I was happy to see them.
The company left about 5:00, aside from little Vivian, who stayed over. What a time we had with her! We went to the "Boat Festival of Lights" at the Ventura Seaport and saw dozens of small boats, all bedecked with sparkling lights and happy music. The place was thronged with people and there was a traveling carnival; we let Vivian take a rider on a "space ship," then went to a Korean resturant for dinner. This proved to be an annoying interlude, as every aspect of the service was so slow, but there's no sense in recounting it. Enough to say that Ellen asked for a discount and they gave us 30% off.
After watching the rest of the boats go back and enjoying a fireworks display, we went home where Ellen gave Vivian a bath and we got her to bed. Soon after, I turned in--exhausted, but so happy and grateful for a wonderful day.